“Rule one — don’t touch the walls. Rule two — if I say ‘duck,’ you better be underground.”
And that, dear reader, is where must pause. Did we escape? What was Uncle Shom doing with the goats? Why were his eyes white, and what did the blue smoke mean? The answers lie in Part 2, where the Lorong Gatal Trio learns that some gates are rusted shut for a reason—and that Uncle Shom is not the monster we feared. Uncle Shom Part 1
This was typical Shom-speak. I nodded respectfully, as was expected, and moved to the heavy armchair by the fire. "Mom says you have something for me. A birthday present?" “Rule one — don’t touch the walls
He was not what I expected. No beard. No cane. No wild eyes. Instead, he was immaculate—a linen suit despite the heat, polished brogues, and a silver-handled umbrella he used more like a scepter than rain protection. His face was a roadmap of deep lines, but his eyes… his eyes were the color of aged bourbon, and they twinkled with a mischief that felt ancient. What was Uncle Shom doing with the goats
Shom gestured vaguely to the room, to the house, to the storm raging outside. "To the places that don't fit on maps. The in-between. Most people walk through life in a straight line. They go from home to work to the grave. But every few miles, reality gets... thin. It frays at the edges. And things try to get through. Or, things from our side try to get out."